Wednesday Afternoon Business Brief

August 27, 2014, 1:20 PM

Major stock indexes are little changed in afternoon trading after spending much of the day drifting between small gains and losses. It was a quiet day of trading, as investors monitored company earnings and the latest corporate deal news ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Alaska voters have rejected a repeal of the state's new petroleum tax system. The ballot measure would have rolled back the tax structure backed by Gov. Sean Parnell. The previous system, championed by former Gov. Sarah Palin, contained a progressive surcharge that took a larger tax bite from company profits when oil prices increased.

Financial firms that sell securities backed by loans, like the kind that fueled the 2008 financial crisis, will have to give investors details on borrowers' credit record and income. The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted the rules for securities linked to mortgages and auto loans on a 5-0 vote.

General Motors is moving production of the next-generation Cadillac SRX crossover SUV from Mexico to a factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The company also says it will add production of some small gasoline engines to the Spring Hill complex. The additions will bring more jobs to Spring Hill, but a spokesman wouldn't give specifics on how many.

Time Warner Cable says it's still investigating what caused a nationwide outage of its Internet service. The problem affected all of Time Warner Cable's markets and started at 4:30 a.m. Eastern. Service was largely restored by 6 a.m. The company is working to bring all customers back online.